Benatia acknowledges OM failure and defends controversial financial decisions

Medhi Benatia delivered a measured mea culpa on his time at Olympique de Marseille, acknowledging that fifth place in Ligue 1 last season — meaning no Champions League qualification — represented a failure given initial ambitions. The former football director spoke at length since his departure from the Phocaean club.

“Last year, we built a squad, we all thought we’d finish top 2, we failed. We finished 5th in Ligue 1, we didn’t achieve the objective of Champions League qualification,” he conceded bluntly. Facing criticism from Marseille supporters, the former Moroccan international nevertheless defended his personal commitment: “All I know is that from day one to the last day, I gave everything for the club. I know I can look myself in the mirror, I never cheated for this club.”

On the question of wage bill explosion, Benatia refused to shoulder sole responsibility for financial risk-taking. According to him, each decision was validated at the top of the club hierarchy, in a logic of immediate competitiveness. “If you want quality, if you want to play matches like against Real Madrid, PSG and try to secure second place, you have to make a mix of experienced, quality players. A coach or sporting director with a chequebook, that doesn’t exist,” he insisted.

The former Bayern Munich defender also mentioned constraints imposed by Financial Fair Play during last summer’s transfer window, attributing cost-cutting decisions to owner Frank McCourt: “After 10 years of deficit, I think he decided to turn off the taps.” He illustrated the difficulty of these negotiations through Luis Henrique’s transfer to Inter Milan, an operation carried out under financial pressure. “When you sell Luis Henrique to Inter and you’re forced to sell him for financial fair play, I’m not at ease before seeing Ausilio,” he confided.

Benatia was however pleased that the club retained key players like Amine Gouiri and Igor Paixão despite end-of-window pressure, praising the influence of supporters and the technical staff in these matters.